A Test-and-Not-Treat Strategy for Onchocerciasis in Loa loa-Endemic Areas.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Implementation of an ivermectin-based community treatment strategy for the elimination of onchocerciasis or lymphatic filariasis has been delayed in Central Africa because of the occurrence of serious adverse events, including death, in persons with high levels of circulating Loa loa microfilariae. The LoaScope, a field-friendly diagnostic tool to quantify L. loa microfilariae in peripheral blood, enables rapid, point-of-care identification of persons at risk for serious adverse events.

Methods

A test-and-not-treat strategy was used in the approach to ivermectin treatment in the Okola health district in Cameroon, where the distribution of ivermectin was halted in 1999 after the occurrence of fatal events related to L. loa infection. The LoaScope was used to identi

SUBMITTER: Kamgno J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5629452 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature